The Story of King Arthur and His Knights

Merlin is introduced in the book as “the prophet known to men as Merlin the wise” (3), who plays a Part 1n Uther-Pendragon’s rise to the Overlordship of Britain. The character of Merlin predates all Arthur stories, with the earliest presenting him as an immortal fay who provides prophecies and magic when captured. Pyle’s Merlin is similarly immortal, but much like the rest of Arthuriana, thoroughly Christianized. Merlin creates the test of kingship that will qualify Arthur to rule Britain, which is described as a “miracle” (28), further removing him from a pagan background. Merlin’s role in the story is also complicated by the presence of sacred hermits, whose purity and age make them resemble Merlin, whose power is supernatural rather than religious. At the same time, these hermits provide services to the court, such as healing Arthur, that in other stories would have been fulfilled by Merlin or Morgana’s magic.

Pyle portrays Merlin’s magic as both useful and dangerous. During the wooing of Guinevere, it is Merlin who provides Arthur’s magical disguise. By contrast, the beautiful Vivien is able to exploit Merlin’s greatest (and least traditionally Christian) weakness: “For Merlin loveth beauty above all things else in the world” (201). This seduction leads to her learning all his magic, then interring him in a stone casket. Other Arthurian stories see him interred beneath a stone, in a tree, or in a stone casket beneath a tree, all of which defy Christian traditions of burial that would not be offered to the sorcerer.

As in most Arthurian romances, Pyle’s narrator uses the first-person “I” and directly addresses the reader (the second-person “you”) throughout the novel. In the foreword, he writes:

I have come to consider the high nobility of spirit that moved these excellent men to act as they did, I have felt that they have afforded such a perfect example of courage and humility that anyone might do exceedingly well to follow after their manner of behavior in such measure as he is able to do (v).

This demonstrates how the narrator functions as a teacher for the reader. The narrator also includes blessings for the reader, asking God to grant them “His Grace” (43). In this way, the narrator acts as an intermediary between God and the reader, like a religious leader.

Furthermore, the narrator emphasizes that his stories about Arthur and his knights are taken from older sources. For instance, when discussing Avalon, the narrator says the reader can find more about it in a “certain book written in French and called ‘Ogier le Danois’” (195). The significant presence of an unnamed or specific narrator is a staple in the chivalric romance genre, and narrators would often use portions of their stories to praise their patrons. However, Pyle—being an American in the 20th century—does not have a king or other member of the aristocratic class financially supporting him, so his asides are didactic, intended to teach moral lessons.

Queen Morgana le Fay’s story is closely entangled with Arthur. In many Arthurian stories, Morgana (also called Morgan or Morgaine) is a witch of Camelot or Caerleon, providing magical healing to the knights of the Round Table. Pyle describes her as “a very cunning enchantress” and a “mistress of magic” (199). Many authors, including Pyle, describe her as Arthur’s half-sister, with the same mother, the Lady Igraine. This description is instrumental to Morgana’s traditional roles in the fall of Camelot and the death of Arthur: her son, Mordred, is destined to mortally wound the king, and her theft of the enchanted scabbard of Excalibur is what leaves the king able to be mortally wounded. Pyle repeats this latter story, with Morgana angered by the omission of her son, Baudemagus, from the Round Table. She “could have no pleasure in life unless she could punish King Arthur for that which he had done” (200).

Morgana exits the story in a manner traditional to Arthuriana: finding that she cannot escape the pursuing knights of Arthur, she casts a spell that turns herself and her court into “large round stones of diverse sizes” (246), or standing stones. Standing stones are a common religious symbol in the druidic faiths of pre-Roman England and Wales. By transforming into these stones, Morgana becomes an anti-Christian figure. Just before this transformation, Morgana throws the sheath of Excalibur into the lake. Meanwhile, Vivien has been sent to seduce Merlin, and heals Arthur, thwarting Morgana’s plans. Other stories have Vivien be the Lady of the Lake, while Nymue seduces Merlin, or have Vivien be queen in Avalon, while Morgana is her successor, uncrowned until Camelot has already fallen. This mirrors how Arthur is given quests that other knights undertake in other stories, as Arthuriana’s broad and somewhat exchangeable cast allows new stories to be told with old parts.

Guinevere is often considered “the most beautiful lady in the world” (76) but admits that Lady Ettard is more beautiful than she is. The text also implies that Nymue, the Lady of the Lake, is more beautiful than Guinevere. Guinevere’s humility about her looks is paired with her compassion. Guinevere meets the wounded Arthur while he is being cared for by a hermit. She came to this hermit originally seeking aid for her servant, who has a fever, but is “filled with a great pity” (77) when she sees Arthur’s state, and has her personal healer help the hermit cure Arthur. It is the combination of her beauty and compassion that attracts Arthur. In most tales of Arthur written during or after the Middle Ages, Guinevere’s infidelity with Lancelot is one of the more important scenes in the canon. Pyle, writing for children, focuses on her moral goodness and de-emphasizes her beauty.

Guinevere is also protective of Arthur and his secrets. After she discovers his deception in the garden—knowing him to be her “White Champion”—she maintains his secret identity, even when joking with the knights he defeated and sent to serve her. When she learns of his true identity as king, Guinevere is again humbled, becoming “all rosy red” when telling her father about the jokes she made with the knights (163). Her fidelity and humility in Pyle’s version show that she is worthy to be the queen of the foremost of all knights, which is reiterated in his vow to serve her in all things.

Pellias is one of the companions of King Arthur in The Story of King Arthur and His Knights. He is also considered one of the Three Worthies by Pyle, who assigns him a fable about chivalric duty towards women. Pellias is the only character who asserts that Guinevere’s beauty exceeds the beauty of Lady Ettard in her portrait, which is ironic and foolish when he witnesses Ettard in person, and realizes she actually is prettier than Guinevere. Parcenet’s assertion that Pellias is a “very valiant and a very gentle knight” (278) is supported by his defense of his queen’s beauty, as well as his willingness to help an aging woman and a group of imprisoned knights. Pellias is also depicted as a strong fighter, easily vanquishing the Green Knight, but the courtly hijinks that follow prove too much for him.

Pellias is twice betrayed, first by Ettard, who plots his death, and secondly by Gawaine, who is shown in Pyle’s book to be temperamental and often violent. Pellias’s naïveté around Ettard’s intentions result in him letting her borrow Nymue’s magic necklace. This parallels Arthur allowing Morgana to borrow Excalibur, with similar conclusions: both the knight and the king are severely wounded and have to be saved by fay. In the case of Pellias, the potion that brings him back to life makes him “half fay” (336), and he follows Nymue to Avalon. This is a happy conclusion evincing Pellias’s maturity and humility in love, but it is also the kind of removal that reduces the goodness of Arthur’s court, and foreshadows further knights and heroes leaving as a result of future quests.